Dan Logue re-elected in 3rd District Assembly race

SACRAMENTO — Assemblyman Dan Logue, R-Loma Rica, was re-elected in the redrawn the 3rd Assembly District race on election night.

With all 322 precincts reporting initial results at 2 a.m. today, Logue had 66,961 votes while Democrat Charles Rouse had 52,304, according to the California Secretary of State's website. That gave Logue 56.1 percent of the votes and Rouse 43.9 percent.

"I'm pleased we did so well," Logue said in a phone interview about 11 p.m. Tuesday. "There's no higher honor than having the people of California elect you to office.

"Now, we'll get ready for the next 12 months and see if we can get the state turned around."

Contacted shortly before midnight, Rouse said he wasn't quite ready to concede although he acknowledged that "Mr. Logue was doing quite nicely."

He added, "It's inherently difficult to run as a Democrat in the north state. I think I ran pretty well with it."

Rouse said he felt he got some of his ideas out to the voting public, especially the notion that "the Assembly is a place for solving problems rather than having political fights."

Logue, 63, lives in Loma Rica, east of Marysville. He owns a real estate business.

Logue has prided himself on being a vociferous critic of government regulations.

While he agrees sensible regulations are necessary, he says the state imposes far too many senseless rules on businesses. This is stifling economic growth in California, he claims.

Rouse, 69, is a retired postal worker. He and his wife have a small olive orchard near Corning.

During the campaign he talked about the need for more jobs in the north state. He called himself a "solid environmentalist."

He also said he reluctantly favors raising taxes to help K-12 schools, community colleges and public universities.

In the primary election, Logue was the winner, with about 42 percent of the vote. Rouse was second with 33 percent. And Bob Williams, a Republican and a Tehama County supervisor, was third, with about 25 percent of the vote.

Logue was first elected to the Assembly in 2008. He was re-elected in 2010.

This year he also entered the race to succeed Doug LaMalfa in the state Senate. During the campaign, however, Logue became ill with complications from gout, and he dropped out of the Senate race.

Staff writer Larry Mitchell can be reached at 896-7759 or lmitchell@chicoer.com or followed on Twitter, @LarryMitchell7.